MAIN DATES OF LIFE AND CREATIVITY 1856, August 27 - Ivan Yakovlevich Franko was born in the village of Naguevichi, Drogobych district, in the family of a rural blacksmith.

TOLSTOY Alexey Konstantinovich (August 24, 1817 - September 28, 1875), Russian prose writer, poet, playwright. He spent his childhood in the Chernihiv region. on the estate of his uncle Alexei Perovsky (known in literature under the pseudonym Anton Pogorelsky), who encouraged the literary interests that awakened early in the boy.

In 1834 Tolstoy passed the exam at the university and was enrolled as a "student" in the Moscow archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1837 he was seconded to the Russian mission at the German Diet in Frankfurt am Main, in 1840 he returned to Russia and was appointed an official in the office of legislation.

For the first time in print, Tolstoy appeared with the fantastic story "Ghoul". In the 1840s, Tolstoy wrote a lot, but published only one poem, yet the one written at that time appeared in print much later.

In the 1850s, Tolstoy, along with his cousins Zhemchuzhnikovy creates the image of Kozma Prutkov, on whose behalf they act with literary parodies and satires. From 1854 Tolstoy's lyrical poems and Prutkov's satires began to appear in Sovremennik. These years were the most fruitful in the writer's work. Having retired in 1861, he lived in a village near St. Petersburg or in Chernigov province, occasionally visiting the capitals. Tolstoy's work is multi-genre. In 1867 the first collection of his poems was published. In the 60s he wrote the novel "Prince Silver", a dramatic trilogy: "The Death of Ivan the Terrible" (1866), "Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich" (1868) and "Tsar Boris" (1870), his highest artistic achievement; a number of ballads and satires.

In the last years of his life, Tolstoy suffered severely from a nerve disorder, relieving pain with morphine. He died in the estate of Krasny Rog in the Chernigov province.

Tolstoy's work, imbued with love for a healthy earthly life, Russian nature and homeland, reflected the movement of Russian literature from romanticism to realism, the achievements of which were reflected in the clarity and accuracy of the depiction of nature, in fidelity and depth of disclosure. emotional experiences, in a satirical denunciation of serfdom.

K.P. Bryullov. Portrait of Count A.K. Tolstoy. 1836.

Tolstoy Alexei Konstantinovich (08/24/1817 - 09/28/1875), writer, poet, playwright. Born in St. Petersburg. On the maternal side, he came from the Razumovsky family (great-grandfather - the last Little Russian hetman Kirill Razumovsky; grandfather - Minister of Public Education under Alexander I - A. K. Razumovsky ). Father - gr. K. P. Tolstoy, with whom the mother divorced immediately after the birth of her son. He was brought up under the guidance of his mother and her brother, the writer A. A. Perovsky (see: A. Pogorelsky), who encouraged Tolstoy's early poetic experiments. In 1834 he entered the Moscow archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Then he was in the diplomatic service. In 1843 he received the title of chamber junker. In the k. 30s - n. In the 1940s, Tolstoy wrote fantastic novels in the style of the Gothic novel and romantic prose - "The Ghoul Family" and "Meeting in Three Hundred Years" (in French). The first publication is the story "Ghoul" (1841, under the pseudonym Krasnorogsky). In the 1940s, Tolstoy began working on the historical novel The Silver Prince (completed in 1861), at the same time he created a number of ballads and lyrical poems that were published later (in the 1950s and 1960s); many of them gained wide popularity (“My Bells”, “You know the land where everything breathes in abundance”, “Where the vines bend over the pool”, “Kurgan”, “Vasily Shibanov”, “Prince Mikhailo Repnin”, etc.). In n. In the 1950s, Tolstoy became close friends with I. S. Turgenev, N. A. Nekrasov and other writers. Since 1854 he has been publishing poems and literary parodies in Sovremennik. In collaboration with his cousins ​​A. M. and V. M. Zhemchuzhnikov, in the Literary Jumble department of Sovremennik, in the Whistle, he published satirical parody works signed by Kozma Prutkov; the work of the author they invented became a parodic mirror of obsolete literary phenomena and at the same time created a satirical type of bureaucrat claiming to be the legislator of artistic taste.

Moving away from participation in Sovremennik in 1857, Tolstoy began to publish in Russian Conversation, and in the 60s and 70s - ch. arr. in Russkiy Vestnik and Vestnik Evropy. During these years, he defended the principles of the so-called. " pure art”, independent of political, including “progressive” ideas. In 1861 Tolstoy left the service, which he was very tired of, and concentrated on literary pursuits. He published the dramatic poem "Don Juan" (1862), the novel "Prince Silver" (1863), the historical trilogy - the tragedies "The Death of Ivan the Terrible" (1866), "Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich" (1868), "Tsar Boris" (1870). In 1867 the first collection of Tolstoy's poems was published. AT last decade wrote ballads (The Serpent Tugarin, 1868, The Song of Harald and Yaroslavna, 1869, Roman Galitsky, 1870, Ilya Muromets, 1871, etc.), poetic political satires (The History of the Russian State from Gostomysl to Timashev ”, published in 1883; “Popov’s Dream”, published in 1882, etc.), poems (“Portrait”, 1874; “Dragon”, 1875), lyric poems.

Tolstoy's work is imbued with a unity of motives, philosophical ideas, lyrical emotions. Interest in national antiquity, problems of the philosophy of history, rejection of political tyranny, love of nature native land- these features of Tolstoy as a person and thinker are reflected in his works of all genres. perfect state structure corresponding national character Russian people, he considered Kievan Rus and ancient Novgorod. High level the development of art, the special importance of the cultural layer of the aristocracy, the simplicity of morals, the respect of the prince for the personal dignity and freedom of citizens, the breadth and diversity international relations, especially ties with Europe - this was how the way of life of Ancient Russia seemed to him. Ballads depicting images of Ancient Russia are permeated with lyricism, they convey the poet's passionate dream of spiritual independence, admiration for the whole heroic natures captured by the folk epic poetry. In the ballads "Ilya Muromets", "Matchmaking", "Alyosha Popovich", "Kanut" and other images of legendary heroes and historical plots, they illustrate the author's thought, embody his ideal ideas (for example, Prince Vladimir Kyiv). By system artistic means these ballads are close to some of Tolstoy's lyrical poems ("Blagovest", "If you love, so without reason", "You are my land, my dear land", etc.).

Tolstoy's ballads, depicting the era of the strengthening of Russian statehood, are permeated with a dramatic beginning. The plots of many of them were events from the history of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, who seemed to the poet the most vivid exponent of the principle of unlimited autocracy and the complete absorption of the individual by the state. "Dramatic" ballads are more traditional in form than "lyrical" ones, referring mainly to the 60s - n. 70s. However, even in them Tolstoy showed himself as an original poet, modifying the poetic structure of the genre. Thus, in the ballad "Vasily Shibanov" Tolstoy revises the heroic situation of a dispute between a freedom-loving subject and the tsar, which was recognized under the influence of the work of F. Schiller. Passing on the denunciation of Ivan the Terrible by Kurbsky, Tolstoy emphasizes in the participants dramatic conflict- the king and the rebellious boyar - common features: pride, inhumanity, ingratitude. The ability to self-sacrifice, the willingness to suffer for the words of the truth, the author sees in common man, which powers of the world this is sacrificed to their dispute: an obscure slave gains moral victory over the king and his feat restores the triumph of truly human greatness over the imaginary. "Vasily Shibanov", as well as other "dramatic" ballads of Tolstoy, in their subject matter and complexity psychological characteristics heroes, according to the poet's ethical approach to historical events adjacent to the works of Tolstoy major genres.

In the novel "Prince Silver" Tolstoy draws violent clashes strong people in an atmosphere of unbridled autocracy and shows pernicious influence arbitrariness on the personality of the monarch himself and his entourage. The novel shows how, moving away from the corrupt court circle, and sometimes hiding from persecution or social oppression, gifted people from different walks of life "make history", protect their homeland from the invasion of external enemies, discover and develop new lands (Prince Serebryany, Yermak Timofeevich, Ivan Koltso, Mitka and others). The style of the novel is associated with the traditions of the historical novel and the story of the 1930s, including the traditions coming from the stories of N.V. Gogol "Terrible Revenge" and "Taras Bulba".

In the dramatic trilogy, Tolstoy portrayed Russian life in the 16th - n. 17th century The solution of historical and philosophical problems in these plays is more important for him than the exact reproduction historical facts. He draws the tragedy of three reigns, depicting three autocrats: obsessed with the idea divine origin his power of Ivan the Terrible, soft-hearted Fyodor and the wise ruler - the "genius ambitious" Boris Godunov.

Tolstoy attached particular importance to the creation of individual, original and bright characters historical persons. A major achievement was the image of Tsar Fedor, testifying to the writer's assimilation of the principles of psychological realism in the 60s. The Moscow Art Theater was opened in 1898 by staging the tragedy Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich.

Features of Tolstoy's historical thinking also affected political satires. Behind the anecdotal plot of "Popov's Dream" was hidden the poet's caustic mockery of the liberals. The controversy with the nihilists was reflected in the poems “Sometimes a merry May ...”, “Against the current”, etc. In the “History of the Russian State from Gostomysl to Timashev”, Tolstoy subjected historical phenomena which, as he believed, interfered with life national Russia. Intimate lyrics of Tolstoy, in contrast to his dramaturgy and ballads, are alien to the elation of tone. His lyric poems simple and sincere. Many of them are, as it were, psychological novels in verse (“Among noisy ball, by chance…”, “That was early spring"). Tolstoy introduced elements of a folk poetic style into his lyrics; his poems are often close to songs. More than 70 poems by Tolstoy have been set to music by Russian composers; romances based on his words were written by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, P. I. Tchaikovsky, M. P. Mussorgsky, S. I. Taneev and others.

In this article, we will consider the biography of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy. We will tell you about his life, work, introduce you to interesting facts about this poet. You probably associate the surname Tolstoy with another Russian writer, and this coincidence is not accidental. They are not just namesakes - these figures domestic literature are distant relatives. The fact is that the Tolstoy family is very extensive. There is another writer named Alexei Tolstoy, but his patronymic is different - Nikolaevich ("Peter the Great", "Walking through the torments"). In modern Russian literature, this surname is also represented. Everyone, at least, knows the writer Tatyana Tolstaya.

Origin of Alexei Tolstoy

This poet belonged to the Razumovsky family from the maternal side. Kirill Razumovsky, the last hetman in Ukraine, was his great-grandfather. And the rich man and nobleman A.K. Razumovsky - count, senator and minister of public education - was the grandfather of this poet. The illegitimate children of this count were the poet's mother, as well as her sisters and brothers. They were legalized at the beginning of the 19th century, while receiving the surname Perovsky, as well as a title of nobility.

The childhood of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy

The poet was born in St. Petersburg in 1817, on August 24. Count K. P. Tolstoy, his father, did not play any role in the boy’s life: immediately after the birth of the child, the couple separated, and Alexei’s mother left with her son for the Chernigov province. Here, surrounded by Ukrainian southern nature, in the estates, first of the mother, and then of her brother, Tolstoy spent his childhood, leaving only good memories in his memory.

Very early, literary interests were discovered in Alexei Konstantinovich. From the age of 6 he began to write poetry, as the poet himself reported in a letter to A. Gubernatis. The famous prose writer of the period of the 20-30s, Alexei Perovsky, who signed his works with the name "Antony Pogorelsky", tried to instill in his nephew a love for creativity, art, and in every way encouraged his first poetic experiments. A boy from the age of 10 was taken abroad. He described in his diary his trip to Italy, which took place in 1831. Tolstoy was part of the childhood environment of the future heir to the throne, the young Alexander II. Communication with this person will continue later.

Work in the Moscow Archive

Tolstoy in 1834 was enrolled as a "student" in the Moscow Archives. His duties included the description and analysis of ancient documents relating to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Alexei Konstantinovich in 1840 moved to the office of the emperor and served here for many years, moving up in the ranks quite quickly. In 1843 Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy was awarded the title of chamber junker.

We have very scarce data on his work and life in the period of the 30s and 40s. This witty, affable, handsome young man was gifted physical force. He could, for example, turn a poker with a screw. Knew Tolstoy well foreign languages, was very well-read. Alexey Konstantinovich divided his time between a service that did not really burden him, secular society and literary pursuits. The main adviser of the poet until 1836 was Perovsky (he died in 1836). This man showed literary friends poems of young Tolstoy. Among his friends was V. A. Zhukovsky, who spoke of them sympathetically.

First published works

Between the late 1930s and early 40s, French they wrote two fantasy stories: "Meeting after 300 years" and "Ghoul Family". Tolstoy in May 1841 published for the first time, publishing under the pseudonym "Krasnorogsky" (derived from the estate of the Red Horn) the story "Ghoul". V. G. Belinsky spoke very favorably about this work. He saw signs of a young but promising talent.

Creativity in the 40s

Alexei Konstantinovich published very little in the 40s - only a few stories and essays, as well as one poem. However, Prince Silver, a historical novel about the reign of Ivan the Terrible, was already conceived during this period. Even then, both as an author of ballads and as a lyricist, Tolstoy was formed. Many of his famous poems belong to this decade, for example: "Vasily Shibanov", "My Bells ...", "You know the edge ..." and others. All of them were published much later.

At this time, Alexei Konstantinovich was satisfied with a small circle of listeners - secular friends and acquaintances. Hot debates and ideological searches of the Russian progressive intelligentsia of the 1940s passed him by.

Birth of Kozma Prutkov

Kozma Prutkov was "born" in the early 1950s. It was not just a pseudonym, but a satirical mask created by Tolstoy, as well as the Zhemchuzhnikovs, his cousins. Kozma Prutkov is a narcissistic, stupid bureaucrat of the period of Nikolaev rule. Poems (parodies, epigrams, fables), and plays, as well as aphorisms, anecdotes on historical themes in which the phenomena of literature and the surrounding reality were ridiculed. In life, the works corresponded to a number of witty tricks.

It is impossible to unambiguously determine which works belong to Tolstoy's pen, but it can be said without a doubt that Alexei Konstantinovich's contribution was very great, since the humorous streak was very strong in it. This poet possessed the gift of subtle, good-natured mockery. Many of his most famous and best poems are examples of skillful possession of irony (for example, "At the command gates", "Haughtiness").

In 1851, in January, the comedy "Fantasy" by Alexei Zhemchuzhnikov and Tolstoy was staged. It was a parody of vaudeville, meaningless and empty, which then still dominated the Russian stage. Nicholas I, who was present at the premiere, was very dissatisfied with this play and ordered it to be excluded from the repertoire.

Tolstoy marries Sophia Miller

In the winter of 1850-1851, Alexei Konstantinovich met Miller Sofya Andreevna, the wife of a colonel. He fell in love with this girl. Sophia reciprocated, but the marriage was interfered with: on the one hand, her husband, who did not want to give a divorce to his wife, and on the other hand, Tolstoy's mother, who treated her son's chosen one unkindly. Only in 1863 was their marriage officially formalized. Sofya Andreevna was an educated woman who knew several languages, knew how to play the piano, and also sang. In addition, she had an outstanding aesthetic taste. More than once Tolstoy called his wife best critic. All the love lyrics of this author, starting from 1851, were addressed specifically to her.

Meeting different writers

Gradually Tolstoy acquired connections in literary circles. In the early 1950s, he became close to Turgenev and helped him free himself from the village, where he was in exile for Gogol's obituary, which was published by Ivan Sergeevich. Later Alexei Konstantinovich also met Nekrasov. After a long break, in 1854, he reappeared in print. Several poems by this poet were published in Sovremennik, as well as the first series of works by Kozma Prutkov.

The life of Alexei Konstantinovich during the Crimean War

Tolstoy Alexei Konstantinovich during the Crimean War wanted to first create partisan detachment, after which (in 1855) he entered rifle regiment major. However, the poet did not have a chance to visit the war - he fell ill with typhus when the regiment was stationed near Odessa. After the end of hostilities, on the day when Alexander II was crowned, Alexei Konstantinovich was already appointed adjutant wing.

The second half of the 50s in the work of the poet

The second half of the 1950s was a period of revival social movement and thoughts after the collapse of the Nikolaev regime. During these years, the poems of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy appeared very actively. Two-thirds of all his works were created then. They were published in various magazines.

At the same time, this time is characterized by increasing social differentiation. In 1857, relations between the editors of Sovremennik and Tolstoy cooled somewhat. At the same time there was a rapprochement between the poet and the Slavophiles. Alexei Konstantinovich became friends, in particular, with Aksakov. However, a few years later, he did not accept the claims of the Slavophiles to become spokesmen for the true interests of the people.

Vacation and resignation

Alexei Konstantinovich often visited the court. The visits were not limited to official receptions. But official duties more and more displeased him, especially the fact that he did not have the opportunity to fully concentrate on art. Only in 1859 did the poet achieve an indefinite leave, and he retired in 1861.

Life and work of Tolstoy in the 60s

A brief biography of Tolstoy Alexei Konstantinovich in the 60s can be marked by the following events. After the poet retired, he finally settled in the village. Tolstoy lived either in Pustynka, his estate near St. Petersburg, or in Krasny Rog, far from the capital (Chernigov province). Only occasionally did he come to St. Petersburg.

In the 60s, the poet kept emphatically aloof from the literary circle, corresponding and meeting with only a few writers (Markevich, Fet, K. K. Pavlova, Goncharov). Published mainly in Russkiy Vestnik by MN Katkov, a reactionary journal. Then (at the end of the 60s) the works of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy were published in Vestnik Evropy, edited by M. M. Stasyulevich.

At this time, at the beginning of the decade, he wrote the dramatic poem "Don Giovanni", as well as a novel called "Prince Silver", after which three plays that made up a dramatic trilogy: "Tsar Boris", "Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich" and "Death Ivan the Terrible" (years of creation of works - 1862-1869). The poems of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy in the form of a collection that summed up his poetic work were published in 1867.

After a long break, Alexei Konstantinovich returned to the ballad in the second half of the 60s and wrote whole line great examples of this genre. The lyrics of Tolstoy Alexei Konstantinovich now occupied much less space in his work than a decade ago. In the late 60s and 70s was also created most of his satire.

The idea of ​​the drama "Posadnik", which tells about an episode from the history of ancient Novgorod dates back to the early 70s. Alexei Konstantinovich was fascinated by this topic. They created a significant part of the work, but, unfortunately, the author failed to finish it. The work of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy was never replenished with this interesting work in finished form.

Material difficulties and social contradictions in society, their reflection in the life and work of the poet

70s - difficult times for this poet. Judging by the available information, Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy (his photo is presented in the article) was a very humane landowner. However, he did not deal with estates on his own, the economy was carried out rather chaotically, using patriarchal methods. This led to the fact that the poet's material affairs gradually fell into disarray. The ruin became especially noticeable towards the end of the 60s. Alexei Konstantinovich told his relatives that he would be forced to ask the tsar to take him back to the service. All these circumstances weighed heavily on the poet.

However, it was not only ruin. Aleksey Konstantinovich felt himself alone in society, he even called himself a "anchorite". Tolstoy's experiences were connected with the processes in the life of Russia at that time. In the post-reform era, the existing in society deepened more and more social contradictions. The power of money grew rapidly and had a corrupting effect on the minds of people; political reaction. The destruction of eternal values ​​was accompanied by the collapse of the old foundations.

The feeling of confusion and bewilderment, the search for a way out of this uncomfortable reality at that time were also characteristic of other contemporaries of the author (Uspensky, L.N. Tolstoy, Saltykov-Shchedrin).

At the end of his life, Tolstoy's fear of existence, of the course of history, intensified. The poet in 1870 in his poem said that "the veils" were removed from his soul, its "living tissue" was exposed, and every touch to life is "a burning torment and evil pain." So wrote Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy. The poems of many of his contemporaries reflect similar sentiments.

Last years

The poet's health has deteriorated significantly since the mid-60s. He began to suffer from asthma, neuralgia, angina pectoris, and headaches. Alexey Konstantinovich went abroad for treatment every year, but this helped only for a short time. He died in 1875, on September 28, in Krasny Rog. Now there is a museum-estate of this poet ( Bryansk region, Pochepsky district).

The count spent his childhood in the Red Horn, and also returned repeatedly to mature years to these places. The biography of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy is thus closely connected with the Red Horn. This is where his grave is now. The poet left no children behind. But he had Sofya Petrovna Bakhmeteva, an adopted daughter.

This ends the biography of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy. The work of this poet was considered by us only briefly. We recommend that you read it in more detail. Then the biography of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy will be understood more deeply. After all, the life and work of any poet and writer echo each other. Biography helps to better understand the works written by various authors, and autobiographical features are often reflected in poetry and prose. Tolstoy Alexei Konstantinovich is no exception in this regard.

Count Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, whose biography and work are presented in the article, is a poet, prose writer and playwright, second cousin of L.N. Tolstoy and maternal grandson of Count A.K. Razumovsky. After the divorce of his parents, he was brought up by his uncle, writer Anthony Pogorelsky (A.A. Perovsky), received home education, served in the civil and military units, was the aide-de-camp of Alexander II, the court master of ceremonies and the master of the hunt; after retiring, he lived on his estates, taking a great interest in hunting. He had great physical strength, but he contracted asthma early and died from the consequences of improper treatment.

The early examples of Tolstoy's prose are the stories written in French " Ghoul family" and " Meeting after three hundred years(during the life of the author were not published). First published work - Ghoul"(1841, the author's pseudonym Krasnorogsky hinted at the name of Tolstoy's family estate Krasny Rog of the Chernihiv province). Undoubtedly, the influence of the uncle of the writer A. A. Perovsky (Antony Pogorelsky) on these texts is mystical fiction. At the same time, this "mystical" feature will turn out to be organic for the style of Tolstoy himself (it will appear later, for example, in the novel " Prince Silver"in the line of the miller-sorcerer). In the 1840s, A.K. Tolstoy, influenced by the methods of the natural school, tried his hand at the genre of a physiological essay (it is interesting that his “hunting” essays preceded the publication of the first works of I.S. Turgenev from the “Notes of a Hunter” cycle).

The lyrics of Tolstoy the poet are surprisingly bright, "multicolor". Its best examples testify that the author possessed a powerful, albeit artistically uneven, talent. Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy is, as a rule, an excellent poet native nature, kinship and fusion with which for him lyrical hero deeply organic, with the life of which he constantly relates his human life. Much of Tolstoy's love lyrics are among the top achievements of Russian poetry. In the poetry of love, his lyrical hero appears as noble knight, who takes on the hardships of life, the heroically indestructible defender of the beloved woman (“Listening to your story, I fell in love with you, my joy!”). This strong and cheerful person filled Russian poetry with bright optimistic intonations.

At times, it spoils the lyrical poems of Tolstoy Alexei Konstantinovich, especially the early ones, excessive self-intoxication, as well as some rhetoric and pretense - for example, the image of the “daring good fellow” sometimes takes on the character of a pose. Not alien to Tolstoy and passion for romantic "beautiful".

The only one lifetime compilation poems by A.K. Tolstoy " Poems"(1857) came out in a period that was very beneficial for Russian poetry - it came out against the backdrop of such brilliant publications as the first book of F.I. Tyutchev, the third book of A.A. Feta, the second book of N.A. Nekrasov and others. By this time, the author was already known as a poet from publications in Russkiy Vestnik and Sovremennik. In addition, in literary circles, Tolstoy's participation in the creation of the author's image of Kozma Prutkov(together with the Zhemchuzhnikov brothers). "Kozma Prutkov" published his satirical and humorous works from the beginning of the 1850s, in addition, in 1851 his parody comedy " Fantasy»

Since 1857, Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, whose biography and work developed rapidly, for several years became a regular contributor to the Slavophile journal “ Russian conversation”and a friend of his unofficial editor I.S. Aksakov. They had many points of contact.

Dreams of Tolstoy himself about unity Slavic peoples embodied, for example, in famous poem « bells”, the first three stanzas of which were set to music by the composer P.P. Bulakhov and became a song that later became folklorized, acquiring the character of a "folk".

Tolstoy was separated from the Slavophiles by his love for Western European culture, which coexisted in him with ardent national patriotism. The fact is that Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy considered Russian culture a natural part of the culture of Europe. He perceived Russian history in his youth through the prism of the works of N.M. Karamzin and his supporters, and repeatedly repeated in different ways that our natural unity with the West was violated and distorted by the consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion.

As if continuing the theme of “Tatarism”, mistakenly taken by many for something nationally Russian, in one of his letters Tolstoy says that the poets Konstantin Aksakov and Aleksey Khomyakov, who were “deeply sympathetic” to him, wanting to demonstrate their Slavophilism, “walked in Moscow in coachman’s caftans with slanting (Tatar) collar. Spiritual loneliness, an almost inevitable consequence of such a special position, did not frighten A.K. Tolstoy.

In one poem, Tolstoy directly declares his intention to go “against the current”, in order to thus excite the “opposite current” and become “the winner of the waves” (“ Against the stream", 1867). Not feeling at home in the circle of Slavophiles, Tolstoy simultaneously treated with contempt the representatives of cosmopolitan "nihilism", but also the Russian police bureaucracy that persecuted them both. This is reminiscent of Tolstoy's ironic verses and poems. "History of the Russian State from Gostomysl to Timashev" (1868), "Potok Bogatyr" (1871), "Popov's Dream" (1873) and etc.

Extraordinary wit is combined in A.K. Tolstoy with the strength and independence of thought. This objectively elevated him above the satire and humor of V. Kurochkin, D. Minaev and other authors from democratic circles, which often took on the character of simple rude sneer. In addition, Tolstoy the poet had a syllable pronounced individual style major artist. In addition to poems, Tolstoy's poems testify to this ( "The Sinner", "The Alchemist", "John of Damascus" and etc.).

The significant role of A.K. Tolstoy in reforming Russian rhyme - despite the reproaches of some contemporaries addressed to him, he fundamentally and consciously used "approximate rhymes", which became widespread after several decades.

Paraphrases and reminiscences are very characteristic of A.K. Tolstoy. In this he is similar to G.R. Derzhavin. A.S. Pushkin, F.I. Tyutchev and others major poets. For example, one of his poems creatively refracts the intonations of Pushkin's "On the hills of Georgia lies the darkness of the night ...":

Silence descends on the yellow fields...

The rhythm of even lines in Tolstoy's poem differs from the rhythm of Pushkin's lines, the lyrical "reason" for writing it is different than that of its predecessor, and the thought is different. In other words, reminiscences from Pushkin are refracted in an original and creative way. Tolstoy wants to project the experiences of his lyrical hero onto Pushkin's text, to indicate a spiritual relationship with him. Similar practices later silver Age became widespread in poetry (V. Bryusov, A. Blok, N. Gumilyov, G. Ivanov, etc.), but during the life of A.K. Tolstoy, they did not always meet the understanding of readers, sometimes causing accusations of imitation. Meanwhile, on the basis of paraphrastic techniques, Tolstoy, following Pushkin, created, for example, his deeply original version of the famous "wandering" plot - a dramatic poem " Don Juan(published in 1862).

Tolstoy's variation of the story about Don Juan includes a number of completely new moments. So, his Don Juan is the “chosen one of the Creator” called to “good deeds”, and for this very reason Satan in the Prologue vows to make him “similar to himself”. However, having become a sinner and eventually killing Donna Anna (she commits suicide), Don Juan does not fall into hell with the statue of the commander he killed: the statue reports that he has been granted the opportunity to repent, and “disappears”, and Don Juan in the “Epilogue” many years later, he dies as a monk, a righteous man, who is mourned by the brethren of his monastery and all the people in the district (in Soviet editions, the Epilogue, unfortunately, is usually absent).

Excellent creative stylization of the old Italian text in the poem " The Dragon”, which helps the author to convey the spirit of the era, also clearly demonstrates the fruitfulness of Tolstoy's paraphrastic techniques.
Historical ballads by A.K. Tolstoy ( "Prince Mikhailo Repnin", "Vasily Shibanov", "Roman Galitsky", "Staritsky Governor" etc.) depict courageous natures, expressive characters that have always attracted him in people. Tolstoy loved and studied the history of Russia, considered himself an expert on it, and in in a certain sense and was him. In his works, he sometimes departs from actual reality, from what he could learn from the annals, the works of historians, etc. - but he does this in the name of the integrity and artistic power of the image. Russian antiquity, masterpieces national culture found in his person not only a deep connoisseur, but also a determined defender.

Some of his letters include remarkably witty and irresistibly hitting literary parodies (on Shakespeare in a letter to I.S. Aksakov dated December 31, 1858, on the methods of contemporary French and Russian novelists, on articles by democratic critics in letters to S. A. Tolstoy of June 29, 1864 and B. M. Markevich of May 14, 1871, etc.) Classes in Russian history were refracted not only in the ballads of A.K. Tolstoy, but also in his prose and dramaturgy. The result of them was the famous historical novel from the era of Ivan the Terrible " Prince Silver"(published 1862), poetic dramaturgical trilogy - tragedies "Death of Ivan the Terrible" (1866), "Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich" (1868), "Tsar Boris" (1870), as well as unfinished drama " Posadnik"(1870 - 1871), which tells about events from the history of ancient Novgorod.

The image of Ivan the Terrible, the image of Boris Godunov passing through the entire trilogy, the image of False Dmitry (whom Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy did not consider Grigory Otrepiev, believing that it was some other person not established by historians), the image of the son of the Terrible Tsar Fyodor are among the strongest creations Russian dramaturgy. Unlike the novel "Prince Silver", in which Tolstoy gave an artistic and stylistic refraction to his romantic inclinations, his plays are unexpectedly realistic, distinguished by penetrating psychologism and a deep understanding of the logic of actions. historical figures, the very course of history.

Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, whose biography and work were presented in the article, was a writer of great natural talent, who followed his own special path in literature, extremely independent and stylistically original. His best works are included in the golden fund of poetry, prose and dramaturgy. The strong and noble personality of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, who embodied best qualities Russian man - as if the real life continuation of those principles and ideals that he sang in his artistic work.